A Mexican food joint is now open in the new mall at the main gate of PNU, ground floor. Small place, 5 or 6 tables but a fairly diverse menu: hard/soft tacos, burritos, quesadillas, taco salad, fajita, Mexican pizza. Chicken, beef, or veggie available. I had 2 decent hardshell chicken tacos for 3,500 won. Came with sour cream and cilantro. My buddy had the beef quesadillas for 5,000 won, rather skimpy. All in all, worth a trip if you're in the hood, though. AND they have Negra Modelo & Ritas (5,000 ea), and "Dequila" shots for 3,000..

Tried it; liked it. Beef burrito, cheese quesadilla, orange juice, all for W12,000. Good flavors, nice cheeses; good hot sauce; and the young woman who served us speaks English. We'll go back, and soon. Not sure how soon, though, as Chef Chen (really good Chinese) is only a short block to the north, Comodo (really good Italian) is roughly one block east, etc. Tough business, the restaurant biz.

I think the name is Tacopia, I guess like Eutopia.

What is "Commodore"? I'm in the PNU area and I've never heard of this place, but I'm always up for a new restaurant in this part of town.

Also, I tried Taco Pia about a week ago. I wasn't blown away, but the burrito I had was on the same level as the ones served at Taco's Family, the only other Mexican place in the area. It's also important to note that in this same shopping complex, there are a few other food options new to PNU: Cold Stone Creamery, Smoothie King, and Freshness Burger.

It's actually Comodo, or Komodo. Very good pizza and pasta (try the chicken risotto) for low prices in a nice 2nd floor room down the street from The Sushi. Clink on the link and scroll down for more info and directions. Someone else posted that the name is probably a Koreanization of Commodore; and that's what stuck in my head. I happened to be there earler this evening; and came here tonight for the very purpose of correcting the name in my earlier post on this thread.

http://www.koreabridge.com/forums/index.ph...30&start=30

Chef Chen, by the way, is very good Chinese. (Real Chinese, not Korean Chinese).

"Koreans are quite clever in creating all sorts of combinations, subtractions, modifications, distortions, and so on to invent new words or concepts to suit their purpose. There are literally hundreds of such Konglish inventions and creations in use . . . Consider ``di-ca'' for digital camera. ``Wo-pro'' (possibly Japanese in origin) for word-processor. One of the favorite root-words for Koreans is utopia, which is metamorphosed into ``book-topia,'' ``sport-pia,'' ``flori-topia,'' and whatever else fits the purpose." - Jon Huer

- in an otherwise silly Korea Times piece. (On the other hand, at least he can spell "utopia".)

Ah... I know that place, but thanks for the explanation. Actually, I like the pizza at Comodo well enough, but I think the pasta at Pasta Vanita (also in the PNU area-- along the same street) is a little better.

I used to do a weekly visit to Chef Chen's for dinner, but the menu changes that have recently been made put me off a little. Everything seems more centered on seafood now (no more chicken/beef fried rice especially stands out), which is too bad for me since I hardly eat the stuff. It's strange that the Kyungsung location has had no menu changes whatsoever.

Where is Pasta Vanita? If one walks from the PNU main gate downhill down the main traffic street, and instead of turning right at the next street for The Sushi and Comodo, one turns left - and if it is then a short way down the block on the left side of the street - then that might be the same place some of my students were telling me about.

I agree about Chef Chen's menu change. But it's still the best place for Chinese in the Valley of the Oncheoncheon.

I'm confused about the directions you've given above. Pasta Vanita is located at the intersection of the Kebapistan/Beans Espresso street and the Comodo/Sushi street. It's on the second floor at the corner, with pretty clear signage out-front. There's also a larger location in Nampodong.

Do you know which one I'm talking about now?

Ah so. Yes, I realize I've walked by Pasta Vanita many times. I'll check it out soon. But then also be aware there is another place in the approximate location I described that might be really good (and cheap), too. I've found my students to be very reliable for good cheap eats, provided the latest place they tell me about hasn't already gone out of business (which seems to happen a lot.).